Wake-Up Call: Tuesday, August 19, 2008

With the PolitickerAZ.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of Arizona's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.

With the PolitickerAZ.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of Arizona's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.

Politicker.com Wake-Up Calls will be on hiatus through Friday and will return Monday, Aug. 25. Please check back with PolitickerAZ.com for complete coverage of the Democratic National Convention in Denver next week.

Shadegg to visit ANWR

U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Phoenix) announced Monday he will be joining three other House Republicans on an energy-related fact finding trip to Alaska, specifically to visit Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), two sites on which Republicans have advocated drilling for oil. (PolitickerAZ.com, Evan Brown)

Link: http://www.politickeraz.com/evanbrown/1901/shadegg-visit-anwr

Candidate's registration as Republican is recent

A candidate running for the state Legislature only recently registered for the first time as a Republican, despite statements that he had been a Republican while living in Florida.

Tony Bouie, a House candidate in north Phoenix, said last week that he's been a Republican nearly half of his voting life. But election records in Hillsborough County, Fla., show he was a registered Democrat. (Arizona Republic,  Mary Jo Pitzl)

Link: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/08/19/20080819B1-update0819....

Manross' challengers question her decisions

Mayor Mary Manross came under fire from two challengers Monday, in a televised forum that airs just two weeks before the Sept. 2 election.

City Councilman Jim Lane and write-in candidate Bill Crawford both accused Manross of plodding leadership and a history of bad decisions. (Arizona Republic, Lesley Wright)

Link: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/08/19/20080819neforum0819.ht...

'Virtual fence' work is halted

Work on "virtual fences" planned for Arizona's stretch of the U.S.-Mexican border has been brought to a halt.

The Interior Department has not granted the Homeland Security Department permission to use the land for constructing the surveillance towers that form the backbone of the virtual fences, said Barry Morrissey, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Washington, D.C. (Daily Star, Brady McCombs)

Link: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/metro/253456.php

Affirmative- action foes face another petition suit

PHOENIX — Opponents of the Arizona Civil Rights Initiative filed suit Monday in hopes of getting a judge to block it from being on the ballot.

But there are preliminary indications that the initiative, which would strike down government affirmative-action programs, could have a hard time qualifying for the ballot even without the lawsuit, due to a high number of invalid petition signatures. The Arizona Secretary of State's Office is still in the process of verifying petition signatures. (Daily Star, Howard Fischer)

Link: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/metro/253446.php

Kyl to serve as GOP spokesman at Democrat convention

U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, one of the most influential Republicans on the national scene, is making plans to attend the Democratic political convention in Denver next week.

His mission will be to provide the Republican perspective on everything associated with Sen. Barack Obama's official nomination as the Democrats' presidential candidate.

In other words, Kyl will be a GOP spin doctor. (East Valley Tribune, Paul Giblin)

Link: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/123453

Shadegg, Lord planning series of debates

U.S. Rep. John Shadegg and Democratic challenger Bob Lord have agreed to a series of televised debates leading up to the November election, but are still working out the details.

Lord, a Phoenix tax lawyer, wants the debates to be issue-specific, while Shadegg, R-Ariz., is pushing for open-ended forums. (East Valley Tribune, Mary Reinhart)

Link: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/123451

State says Pinal County has cleaned up its act

Pinal County officials hope they have closed a dark chapter in the community's history after implementing several measures aimed at preventing fraud and corruption. (Tucson Citizen, Staff)

Link: http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/arizona/94105.php

Voters need to fill vacancies on school boards

NORTHEAST VALLEY - The Scottsdale school board will have at least one new board member when it meets in January.

Board member Molly Holzer decided not to run for re-election in the Nov. 4 election, when Cave Creek and Fountain Hills school boards also hold elections. (Arizona Republic, Ofelia Madrid)

Link: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/08/18/20080818sr-schoolboard...

Summary of Ariz. congressional primary races

A rundown of major-party candidates in Arizona's other congressional districts with established incumbents and voter registration figures. Independents make up more than one-quarter of registered voters in each of the five districts: (Arizona Republic, Staff)

Link: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/08/18/20080818congress-rundo...

Cops, sheriff spend $99K on Bush visit

Local law enforcement spent about $99,000 to escort and help protect President George W. Bush during his overnight Tucson visit in July to help raise money for Republican congressional candidate Tim Bee. (Tucson Citizen, Blake Morlock)

Link: http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/local/94115.php

With the PolitickerAZ.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of Arizona's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.